Fund Seeds COVID-19 Research

Brown faculty research projects range from new therapeutics to at-home virus tests to 3D-printed ventilators.

With the goal of fast-tracking innovative research on COVID-19, Brown University has awarded a total of $350,000 to 15 teams of faculty researchers working rapidly to develop solutions that could impact the world’s response to the pandemic.

The awards from the University’s new COVID-19 Research Seed Fund, established in early April as novel coronavirus continued its spread across the nation, are intended to accelerate projects and help them attract additional funding. Selected after review by a panel of Brown faculty members, the research covers a wide range of disciplines from biology and medicine to engineering, computer science, and economics.

“Helping to solve society’s most crucial problems is one of the University’s highest priorities,” Provost Richard M. Locke and Vice President for Research Jill Pipher wrote in announcing the awards to the Brown campus. “With the world in crisis, we are inspired to see the Brown community coming together to be part of the leading edge of COVID-19 research.”

Many of the awards are aimed at making an immediate and direct impact in Rhode Island, as a complement to a number of other community initiatives being led by Brown students, faculty, and staff.

“Brown has a special responsibility to make valuable contributions to Rhode Island through our research and service, and advance innovation in our home community, and these funded projects will do that,” Locke and Pipher wrote.